


The Watcher In The Woods

by happydaygirl



Series: Weekend Teambuilding (Mis)adventures [2]
Category: The Musketeers (2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, Halloween 2020, Spooky, Suspense, cabin in the middle of nowhere
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:55:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27189655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happydaygirl/pseuds/happydaygirl
Summary: Aramis has organised a weekend away to a log cabin in the middle of a forest at Halloween- determined that nothing spooky will happen, he assures Athos and Porthos that everything will be alright....but when a mysterious figure appears, watching them from the shadows, will they be able to survive the weekend unscathed?
Series: Weekend Teambuilding (Mis)adventures [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1981870
Comments: 10
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

As city turned into town, to village, to rolling countryside and finally to narrow forest paths, Athos wondered if he had made an error agreeing to this weekend trip. The trees, now almost completely bereft of leaves, seemed to bend inwards, creating visions of spindly branches leaning down like skeletal fingers towards the car Aramis was cheerfully driving into the middle of nowhere.

‘Are you sure you know where you’re going?’ He asked, pulling his scarf tighter around his neck- even with the car heater blasting on full he was still freezing.

‘Relax, me and Mr Nav know exactly where we are going!’ Aramis grinned, tapping the satnav on the dashboard like a well behaved dog.

‘I’m sure I saw a nice bed and breakfast a few miles back…’ Porthos muttered from the backseat, peering out the window at the rapidly setting autumn sun above the trees as they drove round a corner, angling up a hillside.

‘I told you, I’ve booked us a wood cabin for the weekend, it’ll be fun!’ Aramis shook his head as Athos frowned over at him.

‘What?’ He asked, as Athos suddenly shuddered in his seat.

‘Is it just me, or does this feel like the beginning scenes of ‘The Evil Dead’ to you?’

‘Oh Athos, stop!’ Aramis barked out a laugh. ‘Pass us a Malteser and stop worrying!’

Athos sighed and fished around the treat bag Porthos had carefully curated for the trip- pulling out a single malteser he leaned sideways and, rolling his eyes, popped it into Aramis’ waiting, open mouth.

‘You know you could just take your hand off the wheel for a few seconds to take them from me? It’s like feeding a goddess grapes…’

‘Why thank you!’ Aramis grinned as he chewed, before peering through some mist that they had suddenly driven into. ‘Now lads, I just need you to promise me one thing, alright?’

‘What’s that?’ Porthos asked, pushing his hand into the bag and pulling out a kitkat.

‘If we find a weird book inside, bound in a skin-like covering, or god forbid any recording equipment, please leave it the hell alone!’ He laughed, ‘oh, and no one goes outside alone!’ He added, grinning.

‘Noted.’ Athos sat back, scoffing lightly. ‘Why Halloween weekend, though?’ He asked, watching the darkening sky above.

‘It was cheaper, believe it or not.’ Aramis replied as he manoeuvred the car onto yet another dirt track and drove up a small hill.

‘I wonder why?’ Porthos snorted, shaking his head.

‘Could be something to do with the fact that no normal person wants to be stuck in the middle of a dark forest at Halloween…’ Athos replied, shaking his head too. ‘What was wrong with a film night, like I suggested?’

‘Well, now we can live in a horror movie, can’t we? I’ve read up on this wood- it’s meant to be haunted by a cloaked figure, doomed to wander here for evermore….’ Aramis chuckled, shaking his head at his own words.

He turned as no one else laughed. ‘You guys aren’t really scared?’ He asked, a teasing smile on his face. ‘Come on! Nothing is going to happen. I’ve brought all the food, apparently there’s a hot tub and amazing views along the forest. It’ll be fun, I promise!’

‘Famous last words right there….’ Porthos grinned, sitting back and relaxing as Aramis drove them yet deeper into the forest, the sky around them rapidly turning from mid afternoon to a grey, misty evening.

* * *

‘It’s not bad.’ Porthos nodded, looking up at the cabin. ‘Not bad at all.’

‘You might have actually outdone yourself this time, ‘Mis.’ Athos nodded, wiping his nose.

‘Ah, lads, stop- my head will be too big to fit inside!’ Aramis laughed, grinning as they walked up the stone path and up to the door.

The cabin, situated on a small hill, was a small affair, yet it had large windows that looked out across the tree line, giving it a spectacular wild vista of life below. To the left was the promised hot tub, and to the right of the cabin was a large seating area, complete with barbecue.

‘I have the only key, so I’ll put it up somewhere safe while we’re here.’ Aramis explained, pulling out a hefty iron key and using it to turn the large lock on the door.

‘Are we going to go through all the typical Halloween cliches this weekend?’ Athos snorted, stepping back a pace as Aramis had to use his shoulder to jimmy open the door. A plume of dust fell from overhead as the door finally opened.

‘I guess so!’ Aramis laughed as they stepped inside. It was dark inside but Aramis was glad when he flicked on the light and it worked first time.

‘So this is the living area…’ he explained, waving his hand at it like an estate agent as he walked the others through. ‘There’s the kitchen, and through that door is the corridor that leads to the bathroom and three bedrooms.’

‘Looks comfy.’ Porthos nodded at the plush, squishy armchairs and sofa by the fire, before shivering slightly. ‘Please tell me someone remembered the matches?’

‘I thought we could do it the old fashioned way?’ Athos shrugged, looking over at the other man. ‘You know, with twigs and rubbing it between your hands?’

Aramis laughed at Porthos’ face, at the scandalous expression growing on it. ‘Relax, I brought them!’ He placated, before frowning at the empty woodpile. ‘Our host seems to have forgotten to stock up on wood, though!’

‘Are you sure there is a host?’ Athos teased, smiling. ‘Or was it just a phantom voice on the end of a crackling phone line? Or did you find it on the internet, with no human involvement at all?’

‘I’m going to hit you in a minute!’ Aramis laughed, shaking his head. ‘Mr Davies is a very nice, elderly man, I’ll have you know!’

‘So he says…could be a zombie for all you know!’

‘Oh, they know how to use phones now, do they?’

‘Alright, maybe a demon, then.’ Athos grinned, sitting down and placing his bag on the floor. ‘I’m starving.’ He told the room at large.

‘I’ll go get some wood, and Aramis can start cooking!’ Porthos smiled, walking to the door. ‘Oh, and if you hear me screaming- please come and rescue me, don’t assume it’s the wind!’

‘I’ll be right out, crucifix in tow!’ Aramis laughed, shaking his head as Porthos guffawed and stepped out, shutting the door behind him.

* * *

The fire crackled merrily in the hearth, sending shadows jumping onto the walls as the three men relaxed into the sofa, multiple empty bottles of beer littering the floor as Athos bent over the monopoly board on a small table, moving his piece around.

‘I hope d’Artagnan knows what he’s missing…’ Athos muttered as he moved, heart sinking as he realised where he would be landing.

‘He’s too busy being loved up with Constance to even notice we’re gone, I expect!’ Aramis snorted, also watching the board closely.

‘Is there no tv?’ Porthos muttered, trying not to sound too bored. They had been playing for three hours now, and Porthos hated playing board games at the best of times.

‘I don’t think Mr Davies said anything about a- aha! Piccadilly- that’s mine! And I’ve got a hotel on it!’ Aramis punched the air as Athos sat back, shaking his head.

‘I’m sure you’ve rigged this,’ he muttered, fanning out his dismal savings. ‘You take it all. Leave your old pal out on the streets, go on….’

‘Don’t mind if I do…’ Aramis grinned, taking the coloured notes. ‘Ah Athos, how careless, how-‘ all three of them looked up as they heard a cracking noise from outside.

‘Nope. I’m not nearly drunk enough for this…’ Porthos shook his head, bodily turning away from the curtained windows.

‘It’s probably an animal.’ Athos reasoned, hackles immediately raised. ‘…probably.’

‘Of course it is!’ Aramis scoffed, still organising his money. He looked round as they heard another crack, and then a peculiar scratching noise filled the room.

‘Go on, go check…’ Athos pushed Aramis’ shoulder. ‘Mr “there’s nothing out there.”’

‘Ok, I will.’ Aramis nodded, swallowing as he stood and brushed his trousers down. ‘Here I go…’

‘Careful,’ Porthos grinned as he and Athos watched him walk to the door. ‘I can hear your knees knocking from here!’ He chuckled as Aramis gave him the middle finger, eyes fixed on the door.

Eyes wide, he slowly took a hold of the handle, the scratching still audible above the wind.

‘Well, go on, then!’ Athos whispered, trying to keep the humour from his voice.

Aramis said nothing. Seconds later he grasped the handle tighter and pulled, eyes quickly adjusting to the outside world.

His heart rate slowed almost immediately, and a laugh erupted from his mouth as he stepped sideways, revealing a long, thin branch from the tree next to the door. It’s outer branches, thin and finger-like, trailed downwards.

‘Panic over, lads- just the wind and some branches!’ He laughed.

‘Never thought it was anything else, did you, Porthos?’ Athos shrugged, nonchalant.

‘Nope. God Aramis, you do worry!’

Aramis scoffed but, just as he poked the branches back out the door, his eyes caught a dark shadow in the tree line, just a little way ahead of the car. It was definitely a figure, for it stood out starkly against the dark of night. It was shrouded in mist, so Aramis couldn’t make out a definition in its form. Probably a deer, he thought to himself, squinting into the night. He shook his head as he felt his pulse begin to quicken at the sight of it.

‘Come on Aramis, Porthos has found Cluedo!’ Athos called from behind him.

‘Coming….’ Aramis replied quietly, swallowing as the figure didn’t move. Probably a deer, like he had originally thought, he shrugged, as he shut the door behind him, pushing it out of his mind as he joined the others…..


	2. Chapter 2

Athos was just starting to get into the good bit of his dream, tucked up tightly in his heavy covers, when suddenly an almighty high pitched scream erupted into the silence of the cabin, long and drawn out.

He shot up in bed, eyes wide and a white hot feeling of panic saturating him as the scream continued in the early morning light- he threw himself out of the covers, not even stopping to pull on his shoes as he rushed for the door.

A similar cacophony of thuds and crashing of wood on wood alerted him to the fact Aramis was also up, running around his room in a panic.

He looked across to the other door as Aramis ran out, eyes also wide. ‘What the hell was that?!’ He asked, before they both looked round as a series of bangs and crashes erupted from the direction of the bathroom. Suddenly the door opened and Porthos backed out, towel clutched around his waist, wet hair plastered to his face.

‘You didn’t tell me the water would be bloody freezing first thing in the morning!’ He yelled at Aramis, shaking his head.

‘Was that you screaming?!’ Athos growled, eyes wide.

‘Well, I wasn’t expecting it to be so damn cold!’ Porthos sniggered, before laughing and ducking as Aramis took off his slipper and threw it at him.

‘Oh god…’ Athos leant back against the doorframe, eyes closed. ‘I almost had a heart attack!’

‘Nice of you guys to come running, though.’ Porthos laughed, shaking his head. ‘I am very touched.’

‘Well we thought someone was being murdered!!’ Aramis laughed, rolling his eyes as Porthos shrugged at his words. ‘Just let the shower run for a bit, the pipes should warm up soon.’

‘Will do,’ Porthos winked at him, before stepping back into the room. ‘Ooh Athos, I could just murder a bacon sandwich!’He called back, before shutting the door with a snap.

Athos sighed at the closed door. ‘He’s lucky I didn’t have a big stick or something. We’d have had to explain to Treville how come Porthos got concussion in the shower…’

* * *

After a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs and large mugs of tea the three men pulled on their winter woolies and stepped out into the brisk morning air.

‘What have you got planned for us for today, then?’ Athos asked Aramis as they walked onto the path, clapping his gloves hands together.

‘Hunting? Birdwatching? Skinny dipping in that pond over there?’ Porthos laughed, shaking his head.

‘Ew, no thanks- I do not want to be seeing your jingle janglies this early in the morning, thank you!’ Aramis grinned, before pulling out his phone. ‘Besides, we almost got a few frontal view this morning! That was enough!’

‘My towel covered everything important, I’ll have you know!’ Porthos chuckled, before shuddering. ‘We better do something active, it’s freezing!’

‘Gentlemen, behold-‘ Aramis waved his phone into the air, a smile on his face.

‘What?’ Athos frowned.

‘I was on YouTube last week and watched a load of videos about this new app called Randonautica,’ Aramis explained, tapping his phone to get the app up. ‘Basically you think of an intention for something you want to find….say, the colour purple, or friendship….and then the app is supposed to read your mind and it gives you coordinates to that thing!’ He looked over, at Porthos and Athos’ decidedly unimpressed faces.

‘It’s supposed to encourage exploration in the great outdoors!’

‘Isn’t that the thing where those kids found those bodies in suitcases or something?’ Porthos asked, frowning.

‘Well…yeah. But some people ask to find those sorts of thing, see…like a mystery, or death. It’s supposed to be a bit of fun…’

‘Yeah, sounds so fun…’ Athos snorted, before sighing at Aramis’ dejected face. ‘Alright, we’ll give it a go. But no intending for death or anything like that! We’ll start with something small, like…I don’t know….green.’

‘Alright, let me just set it up..’ Aramis smiled, tapping for a few seconds, before holding out the phone between the three of them. ‘Now we all need to concentrate on the colour green….’ He said, before they fell into silence as they concentrated on the colour.

‘There. That should do it- look, it’s searching!’ Aramis smiled, looking back down. ‘There!’ He grinned, holding out the phone, where a set of coordinates filled the screen.

‘How far is it?’ Porthos asked, as they began walking. ‘Should we take the car?’

‘About ten minutes, so the map says.’ Aramis shrugged. ‘Easy walking distance.’

‘Come on, lets go find something green in a forest full of trees and bushes…’ Athos snorted, before they all fell into step, Aramis leading the way to the area the coordinates pointed to…

* * *

‘Huh.’ Porthos muttered, hands on his hips as the three of them looked at the ground ten minutes of walking later.

‘Coincidence.’ Athos nodded, voice stoic.

‘Sure Athos, you keep telling yourself that!’ Aramis grinned, before stepping forwards and kicking the abandoned green plastic bag into the underbrush. ‘It’s exactly where the coordinates said it would be, look!’ He showed him the phone again, shrugging. ‘Can’t argue with that.’

‘Rubbish.’ Athos shook his head, ‘just a lucky find.’

‘You asked for it, remember.’ Aramis shrugged, enjoying the uneasy look on his friend’s face. ‘Another go? Porthos, you can choose.’

‘Alright..how about…fear?’

‘Oooohhh Porthos, going for the big time!’ Aramis laughed, before tapping his phone again.

‘Why do you have to wish for that?’ Athos sighed, narrowing his eyes.

‘Why not?’ Porthos shrugged. ‘It’s only a stupid game. It’s not real, is it?’

‘Well how did it know something green would be here, after we happened to wish for green?’ Aramis pressed, smiling.

‘Algorithms, that’s how. It’s only a bit of fun. I intend to find fear- ready?’

‘Why did I choose to be friends with you two…’ Athos sighed, watching as Aramis held out the phone again.

‘Because you have impeccable taste.’ Aramis snorted, before they stood in silence, thinking of fear.

‘There we go…and only five minutes away!’ He said, before he walked off, the other two in tow.

They walked in silence for a bit, looking around the treeline. The dirt path they had been closely following suddenly veered off into the undergrowth, causing them to go cross-country for most of the way.

‘How much further?’ Athos asked as he awkwardly hopped over the trunk of a fallen tree. The trees seemed thicker here, more boxed in. The sun could hardly get through, even with the leaves falling to the ground- Athos frowned upwards, pulling his scarf tightly around his neck as a chill wind blew around them. Nothing seemed to stir here, like they were trapped in some sort of time shift of silence.

‘Come on Athos, do keep up!’ Aramis smiled, before looking down at his phone again. ‘Not far now, apparently…’

Athos was just about to reply when he heard a cracking noise behind him; whipping his head around he saw Porthos to his left, hands stuffed in his pockets.

‘Very funny, Porthos…’

‘What?’ Porthos frowned, looking at him with a confused expression on his face.

‘That noise. Cracking wood- it’s not funny.’

‘I didn’t do anything!’ Porthos smiled now, before narrowing his eyes playfully. ‘Don’t start hearing things now! Just let him have his fun and we can go back and sit by the fire and have a beer.’

‘I’m not starting anything!’ Athos muttered, shivering. ‘You didn’t make that noise just then?’

‘I swear I didn’t.’ Porthos assured him, before shrugging. ‘Probably a deer.’ He reasoned. ‘Come on, before he shouts at us again!’ He chuckled.

Athos nodded, smiling as his nerves were somewhat placated. Casting one look back across the tree line he shrugged at himself, before turning and following Porthos to catch Aramis up.

* * *

‘Well, nothing here!’ Porthos smiled, shrugging. ‘Told you it was all a load of shit.’

‘Ah, but who is to say how “fear” will manifest itself?’ Aramis pointed out, wide eyed.

Athos sighed from atop the stump he had sat on, rolling his eyes. He had begun to feel more and more uneasy the further they went into this patch of woods, but he wasn’t about to tell the others that. ‘Porthos is right, there’s nothing here. We should go back before it starts getting dark.’

‘Well we can at least have our picnic here, right?’ Aramis shrugged, taking off his backpack and handing round foil covered sandwiches, followed by a large flask of hot coffee.

‘If I ever go on some sort of exploration into the great unknown, I am so taking you with me!’ Porthos grinned appreciatively as he accepted a small white polystyrene cup. ‘You can make me banquets every night!’

‘Only if you pay me!’ Aramis retorted, before frowning as Athos didn’t accept his cup- he was staring over his left shoulder, eyes wide. ‘Athos?’ He muttered, waving the cup at him. ‘Earth to Athos!’

‘Slowly turn around and tell me you don’t see the figure too…’ Athos breathed, still staring ahead.

Aramis snorted under his breath. ‘Come on Athos, don’t be silly, you-‘

‘I am being deadly serious.’ Athos cut in, voice gentle yet firm. ‘Both of you. Look over there and tell me you don’t see it.’

Catching Porthos’ eye, Aramis shrugged and carefully swivelled round to look behind him- peering into the forest, he narrowed his eyes as he searched the treeline. At first he couldn’t see anything, but soon his eyes settled on a black figure a little way into the forest. It looked to be human-shaped, yet shrouded in complete blackness, like a shadow. It also seemed to be staring right at them.

‘Halloween prank?’ He muttered, just loud enough for the others to hear. ‘A friendly jape?’

‘Not likely. We’re in the middle of nowhere.’ Porthos reminded him, eyes also fixed on their shrouded visitor.

‘Could be a-‘

‘Aramis I swear if you say “a deer” I’m going to throw my sandwich at you.’ Athos interjected, voice dark. ‘It’s not an animal. It’s a person.’

‘Could be a demon…’ Porthos breathed, before his face creased into a grin as both Aramis and Athos looked at him, eyes wide. ‘It’s probably a rambler wondering who we are, just as much as we are wondering who they are!’ He chuckled, before taking a bite of his sandwich.

‘We should go back to the cabin.’ Athos muttered, appetite completely gone. ‘It’s getting dark, anyway.’

‘I agree.’ Aramis nodded, still looking at the unmoving figure as the others gathered their things. As he stood and they all moved off back to find the path, he mused that it looked exactly like the figure he had seen the night before, but he wasn’t about to tell the others that….


	3. Chapter 3

It was raining by the time the three of them made it back to the cabin- the sky was already inky black, and a mist was lazily trailing the dirt paths as they picked their way back home. Mud had lanced up Athos’ jeans and had bizarrely made its way into his socks, and he was thoroughly miserable by the time Aramis pushed open the door and let them in.

‘Halloween tonight,’ he said as he peeled off his wet coat and hung it on the hook by the door. ‘Wanna go trick or treating?’ He said in a thick American accent as he turned back to them, chuckling.

‘What I want is a nice hot shower and a cold beer.’ Athos told him shortly, shaking his head like a dog and splattering the other two with water. ‘But if you brought chocolate, I wouldn’t mind a handful.’

‘Well my friend, you are in luck!’ Aramis grinned, nodding over to a rucksack by the sofa. ‘I brought plenty of treats, including some candy canes I found in an American shop by Oxford Street last week. I thought we could light up the barbecue, have a little food, and hang out there tonight?’

‘In the rain?’ Porthos asked, kicking off his muddy shoes by the door.

‘It’s got an awning! And besides, it might have stopped by then.’ Aramis shrugged, before bustling off to the kitchen to prepare their dinner.

Athos sighed deeply as Porthos finally got the fire going again; he smiled contentedly as he sank into the sofa, the heat hitting him full in the face.

It had been a long day, and he wasn’t one for walking miles and miles like Aramis was- his feet ached and his hands were freezing. He looked out the window, at the solar powered lanterns nicely illuminating the treeline in a circle by the property.

His mind flicked back to the figure in the woods; he was sure it wasn’t a deer, but the alternative was pretty creepy, even though he usually didn’t entertain such notions. Probably some spotty local teenager with nothing to do apart from annoy innocent people for his little “vlog” that only three people watched, including his mum.

‘Beer anyone?’ He jumped slightly as Aramis leaned towards him, a cold beer in hand.

‘Cheers,’ Athos smiled as he accepted it. ‘So, what have you got planned for dinner, then?’

‘Ah, well, I thought I could rustle up some burgers, stick them on the barbecue?’

‘Sounds good to me- I’m borrowing your big scarf though! I’m still freezing!’

Aramis laughed at that, and went back into the kitchen to prepare the salad.

‘I wonder if our little spooky friend will make another appearance…’ Porthos spoke up from one of the squashy armchairs, voice dark, looking out of the window with wide, mock-scared eyes.

‘There was nothing out there,’ Athos muttered, also looking out the window. ‘Just some kid with nothing to do.’

‘Yeah yeah….keep telling yourself that….’ Porthos grinned, before reaching down and picking up the treat bag Aramis mentioned- sighing happily he delved in, pulling out a handful of Haribo and munching happily as Athos stared out of the window, eyes straining against the mist that seemed to press in on all sides.

* * *

The rain had thankfully stopped by the time Aramis was ready to light up the large, circular barbecue by the side of the house. The host had set up a little sitting area with a picnic bench and a small rickety wooden seat.

They sat by the warmth of the fire, the orange light casting dancing shadows onto the wall of the cabin as they listened to music while Aramis cooked- soon enough it was time to eat. As they now sat in a companiable silence, chewing on their burgers, Aramis looked over to the forest line, the mist still dragging its way across the grass ahead of them.

‘Wouldn’t it be weird to live here full time?’ He asked, his breath coming out in white puffs as he swallowed the last of his burger. ‘I think I’d go stir crazy if I had to live here all by myself!’

‘I’d need neighbours. I couldn’t live here by myself…’ Porthos nodded in agreement, draining his beer and reaching for another can. ‘I’d turn into the guy from The Shining!’

‘But it was the hotel that was possessing him, not just him going stir crazy.’ Athos pointed out, wrapping Aramis’ scarf closer round his neck.

‘Yeah but he was already a nutter to begin with, wasn’t he?’ Aramis replied, shrugging.

‘Well we could’ve watched the film tonight if you hadn’t dragged us out into the arse end of nowhere!’ Athos snorted, shaking his head.

‘Uh, lads,’ Porthos’ voice was stark as he straightened up, looking to a tree by their car, just outside the orange glow of the lanterns. ‘What’s that?’

‘Oh don’t start.’ Athos rolled his eyes, opening another beer. ‘I’m not nearly drunk enough for any more of this shit…’

‘I’m serious!’ Porthos muttered back, yet he didn’t take his eyes off the area, instead reaching out his hand to shakily point. ‘Can you see that?’

‘What?’ Aramis breathed, also looking in that direction. ‘What is it, Porthos?’

‘Don’t know….looks like a person, don’t it?’ Porthos whispered, frowning. Just by the car, almost leaning against the tree, was a large, black shadowy shape.

‘Can you guys see it too?’ He whispered after a few seconds, eyes wide as the figure didn’t move an inch.

Athos sighed inwardly, yet his heart was hammering in his chest as Porthos and Aramis stood up together, faces still turned to the figure. ‘Where are you two going?’ He whispered urgently, frowning.

‘I’m gonna find out what’s been scaring us this weekend-‘

‘-don’t be so stupid!’ Athos scoffed, reaching out to grab Aramis’ arm as he moved off. ‘They’ll get bored eventually and go away!’

‘You still think it’s a teenager?’ Porthos snorted, shaking his head, ‘that ain’t no person.’

‘Oh for god’s sake…’ Athos rolled his eyes as he watched the two of them step away, approaching the figure silently from the side.

He watched for a few seconds, before finally standing, his nerves beginning to fizz to couple with the annoyance he felt as he lamented his choice of friends. He crept slowly behind the two of them, wishing he had thought to bring a torch.

‘This is stupid…’ he whispered as he caught up to Aramis.

‘Shhh…’ Aramis shushed him, before catching Porthos’ eye and nodding.

‘What are you-‘ Athos didn’t have time to finish his sentence before Porthos walked forwards at speed towards the figure, arms out.

‘Better for him to go and confront them, he’s bigger…’ Aramis whispered, before he shrugged at Athos’ quizzical look. Seconds later, there was a sudden rustle of branches and the snapping of twigs, before Porthos let out a loud cry of alarm.

‘Porthos?!’ Aramis and Athos both yelled together- they took off at a run, eyes peeled for their friend as they rounded on the area by the car.

Athos spotted the figure first; it was huge and hulking and seemed to be lurching towards them now, black and shapeless yet all too corporeal- without even thinking he took off at a run, grunting as he caught the black figure round the waist and pulled it to the ground.

A very familiar, winded cry of alarm met his ears as the two of them hit wet grass- frowning, Athos reached up and pulled off the hood. Porthos grinned back at him, a slightly pained look on his face as Athos crawled off him, shaking his head.

‘You idiot!’ He cried, clutching his stomach where he had hit it on the ground. ‘I could’ve killed you!’

Porthos let out a large guffaw as he sat up, wiping his face. ‘Shoulda seen your face!’ He laughed, before they both looked up as Aramis came over, laughing hard.

‘You were in on this stupid trick too!?’ Athos growled angrily as he stood up, holding out his hand to pull Porthos up with him. ‘You two are such stupid idiots, I can’t even believe-‘

‘Your face was a picture, my friend!’ Aramis grinned, wiping his eyes and chuckling as he watched Athos wipe the mud off his jeans. ‘I wish I had thought to bring my phone out here, Treville would’ve loved to have seen this!’

‘I’m so going to get you guys back for this!’ Athos shook his head, wiping his face and swallowing hard, adrenaline coursing painfully through his body.

‘Come on, lets go finish off the rest of the beer before turning in…’ Aramis grinned, before the three of them turned to go back to the cabin- each man suddenly stood stock still, their hearts dropping into their stomachs as they looked into the window of the main living area of the cabin-

There was a figure standing in the room illuminated by the firelight, looking out at them across the road.

They stood in silence for a few beats, the only sounds being their breathing.

‘Very funny.’ Athos whispered after a while, not taking his eyes off the figure in the window. ‘I guess this is prank part two?’

‘This isn’t us, mate…’ Porthos replied, voice low.

‘We swear it.’ Aramis added, heart beating painfully in his chest.

‘It’s not moving…’ Porthos muttered, shivering.

‘How did it get in?’ Athos asked, now looking to Aramis. ‘Where’s the key?’

‘It’s in my pocket.’ Aramis replied, reaching in to his jacket and pulling out the large key. ‘I locked it before we all came out.’

‘Do you really think it would need a key?’

‘Porthos I swear to God…’

A wind whistled through the woods- the mist seemed to press in even more as the three men stood, staring at the figure.

‘Well I’m not going back in there…’ Aramis muttered shortly. They all stepped backwards a pace as the figure began to move, in the direction of the door.

‘Oh no, nope…’ Aramis shook his head, reaching into his pocket again and brandishing his car keys. ‘You guys coming?’ He muttered, looking across to the other two. ‘I’m sure I saw a bed and breakfast a few miles back…’

‘What about our stuff?’ Athos replied, finally taking his eyes off the cabin.

‘You wanna go get it?’ Porthos snorted- suddenly they all looked towards the cabin again as they heard a bang, and the figure now seemed to fill the doorway, illuminated by the lanterns hooked on the awning.

‘We can go back in the morning, I’m sure…’ Athos muttered urgently- the three of them darted for the car.

As Aramis turned on the ignition Athos looked back through the back window- the figure stood silently, as if watching them go.

He sat back in his seat as Aramis floored it, back onto the main road. ‘I tell you something, Aramis-‘ he swallowed as his heart started relaxing in his chest. ‘You are NEVER organising a weekend away ever again!’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween everyone! I hope you all have a safe night, whatever you’re up to 🎃🎃

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! 2 more chapters to come!
> 
> Please comment, I’d love to know what you think!


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